Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Dinard Blue Heaven Orchid (Work In Progress)


The above reference photograph is of the gorgeous pale blue to lavender cattleya orchid Dinard Blue Heaven.   I fell in love with it at first sight and after bringing it home took over 100 reference photos of it.  Today I began a rough lay-in of oil color on a panel and you can see the work in progress below.


12" x 12" oil on panel
Work in progress

It looks pretty rough right now, but my aim was to first cover the panel completely with color.  The details will appear as the work progresses.   To view more photos of this orchid on a prior post, go here.


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Makapu'u Point Lighthouse Trail (Oahu, Hawaii)


"Checking The Surf"
12" x 6" oil on canvas

This painting was posted here previously, but I wanted to show you one of my works with Makapu'u lighthouse in the distance from Makapu'u Beach Park on Oahu.   Yesterday my son Mitch and daughter-in-law Michelle and I hiked a two mile trail up that cliff to get a close up view of the lighthouse.   Wow!  What beautiful scenery along the trail.   I have lived here 9 years and it was my first time to do that hike.   Isn't it funny that when you live near such places you don't visit them as frequently as the tourists do.   Below are some photos from the hike yesterday that you might enjoy.





Below are Mitch and Michelle on the trail and afterwards at a restaurant at Koko Marina where we stopped  to have a late lunch after the hike.  That is Koko Crater behind them in both photos.




It was a beautiful day and a wonderful visit with my son and Michelle.   I posted more pictures on my photography blog as well as a video of the trail if you would like to see additional views of the area.

Now I must get back to painting !   But instead of waterlilies I feel the urge to paint the lighthouse and scenery from yesterday's welcome trip outside my studio.  Such a delightful predicament !     ;-D





Thursday, August 2, 2012

Waterlilies On My Mind (Photos)

 Right now I am working on a miniature oil of a waterlily pond  similar to the photograph above and the one below the gorgeous blue waterlily photo.    For some reason the going is slow where my painting is concerned  but thought you might enjoy these photographs.


Stay tuned for more waterlily paintings.   For you flower lovers out there, I made a post today on my photography blog  showing photographs of various ginger flowers found in Hawaii.  Below is a photo of shell ginger with a bee which I intend to paint one of these days.


Back to the easel !  Thanks for stopping by.


Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Lady In Red (Waterlily)


"Lady In Red"
4" x 6" Oil on canvas on panel



   I used my artistic license with the intense red of the waterlily.    This is a study for a future larger painting.  


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Lily And Striped Egg Cup Still Life


"Lily And Striped Egg Cup"
6" x 4"
$195.00


This lily was from a bouquet my son sent me when he was in Afghanistan.  I intend to do more new works from my reference photos of those lilies and blue delphiniums.  I have several more egg cups so watch for them as subject matter as well.    
Thank you for visiting today.


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Carnival Glass Egg Cup


"The Carnival Glass Egg Cup"
8" x 8" oil on canvas
$450

I found this carnival glass egg cup on Ebay about 3 years ago and this is my first attempt to paint it.  The copper kettle just seemed to fit and of course I felt the eggs needed to be there as well.   The flowers in the vase in the reference photo I took were gerbera daisies but these peonies worked better for the completed painting.
Word of advice to artists :   Don't let your furry pet position itself between the fan and you and the easel !
;-)    My mostly white calico cat did just that without my realizing it while I was painting and "here a hair, there a hair"  (fur, I mean) appeared on my painting at random times.   Lesson learned.   Oh, I did remove the fur from the painting    Did I dare move the cat.....of course not!  The fan went off instead.


Sunday, July 22, 2012

Work In Progress (Still Life ) And A Great Blog


Work In Progress- Egg Cup And Copper Kettle
8" x 8" oil on canvas

This is a beautiful carnival glass egg cup that has a rainbow of colors reflecting on it.  It will be a challenge to depict it accurately.  It has been in my possession for about 3 years and this is my first time to paint it and I look forward to completing this painting.   

A great blog I follow by Matthew D. Innis talks about representational art and is wonderful for the experienced artist as well as the very beginner.  A recent post has a demonstration about how Rembrandt might have painted in stages,  and another excellent post is about Daniel Greene's palette and how he pre-mixes value strings before he begins his paintings.  Check it out; interesting material.